The USDA Zone info is a great tool for gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

One way of estimating when it's the best time to plant oriental poppies is to consult the USDA zone info for Soldotna.

Planting Calendar for Oriental poppies

Frost tolerance for oriental poppies:	Tolerant of some frost.
When to plant:	Up to 5 weeks before last frost.

Oriental poppies are moderately cold tolerant which means that you can plant them earlier than plants that are more sensitive to the cold.

The earliest that you can plant oriental poppies in Soldotna is March. However, you really should wait until April if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant oriental poppies and expect a good harvest is probably August. If you wait any later than that and your oriental poppies may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your oriental poppies indoors.

Last Frost Date

In Soldotna the average date of last frost happens on May 15. In the coldest months of winter you should expect an average low temperature of -30°F.

Keep in mind that USDA zone info for Soldotna is an average and the actual date of last frost is different every year. Half of the time in Soldotna there is a last frost after May 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your oriental poppies in the event of a late frost.

USDA Zone Info for Soldotna

Here is the info for USDA Zone 4a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)	May 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)	September 15
Lowest Expected Low	-30°F
Highest Expected Low	-25°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -30°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -25°F.

Plants to Grow in Soldotna

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Soldotna.